Sunday, April 13, 2014

London Marathon

On Sunday morning we woke Ellen and her crew far too early to board a train into town. Ellen had booked them a bus tour of Stonehenge and Bath. We knew we wanted to cheer for the marathon, and also that they probably didn't, especially with small children along, so it was a good day to split off. Even after we dropped them it was far too early for the marathon so we did some wandering, talked to lots of runners on the Tube and went to scope a good viewing spot.

We headed toward the Tower of London as we'd heard that was a good (albeit usually crowded) spot.

Katy found a group giving out noise-makers and couldn't have been more delighted.

Somehow it turned into a whacking battle....

We really couldn't have picked a more picturesque spot to wander and wait.

We still had a LONG wait until the runners came around (we were at the cross spot where miles 13 and 22 looped back on each other), so why not play at a park in sight of the Tower of London? (I really hope one day Katy is able to look back and realize how extraordinary the "ordinary" moments of her childhood often were)

The crowd was starting to thicken so we figured we should head back towards our spot to make sure we could see. Katy found a fundraiser selling flags and we couldn't resist. She was all decked out!

The disadvantage to being smaller at events like these is that you can't see. Luckily, with some ingenuity and parents that will let you take risks: problem solved.

Finally some runners started through. This was also a major Paralympic event and it was phenomenal to watch them run and be part of the roar of the crowd as they went through. Then the first women's elite grouping...

(Seriously, this was my spectator view - it was beyond words incredible)

The men came through soon after (I missed getting a good picture here) and after that we decided we were tired and maybe should find a restroom. We started to have difficulties finding our way back to a Tube stop easily (so many roads were closed off and impossible to cross) and ended up watching the race further down. We were glad we did!

The elite women:

The lead men:

And the sight every Briton came out to see: Meb.

We waited a minute longer to cheer the first American through as well.

On our way back around we found a tiny stairwell at the London Bridge where you can walk right down to the Thames. It splashed Katy; she was not amused.

We headed home on the PACKED trains. Katy was squished. I took this from above as she expressed her displeasure at her lot on the Tube.

Later that evening I rode the train back into town to help Ellen and her group navigate home. They were delayed so I wandered through Regent's Park. Remember the goslings from a few weeks ago? They're growing up!

I collected a very tired crew and off we headed to reset for another day of adventures!